Guide to the Frederick L. Dunn Papers, 1930-2005, bulk 1950-1980
Finding aid prepared by Margaret Hughes
University of California, San Francisco
530 Parnassus Avenue
San Francisco, CA, 94143-0840
(415) 476-8112
http://www.library.ucsf.edu/collections/archives/contact
2013
Title: Frederick L. Dunn papers
Identifier/Call Number: MSS.2011.10
Contributing Institution:
University of California, San Francisco
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
14.6 Linear feet
(35 boxes)
Date (bulk): 1950-1980
Date (inclusive): 1930-2005, undated
Abstract: The papers of noted medical professor and researcher Frederick L. Dunn document his career as a professor, medical doctor,
and anthropologist, with the bulk of the collection dating from 1950-1980. Dunn is a scholar-practitioner who was instrumental
in the development of the fields of international health and anthropology in public health, formerly known as "tropical medicine,"
and his work has left lasting impressions on how it is continued to be practiced. The majority of Dunn's professional activities
documented here were in association with the University of California, San Francisco as a staff member for over 30 years and
the field research he completed in Southeast Asia relating to infectious disease.
Creator:
Frederick L. Dunn
Arrangement note
The collection is arranged as 2 series. Series I: Work and Research Files, 1930-2005 (11.3 linear feet) Series II: Publications
and Writings, 1950s-2000s (3.3 linear feet)
Biographical/Historical note
Frederick L. Dunn (b. 1928) was a pioneer scholar-physician in the field of international health and anthropology in public
health, formerly known as "tropical medicine,” who worked primarily in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Southeast Asia. His
research spans issues of global health, behavioral research, medical anthropology, epidemiology, and infectious disease. Dunn
advocated an interdisciplinary approach that has altered the course of research in global health. He was instrumental in identifying
and promoting the importance of human behavioral research in understanding infectious disease. Dunn’s theory of 'casual assemblages'
takes into account the social, political, cultural, and economic factors in the spread of communicable diseases within populations.
Dunn worked closely with the World Health Organization throughout his career, beginning in the 1960s. He served as a physician-anthropologist
consultant for the organization and was involved with identifying research and training needs in tropical disease. His research
has been widely published from the 1950s-1990s.
Frederick L. Dunn was born in 1928 into a family well acquainted with sciences. His father was a well-known psychiatrist and
his extended family included other physicians and scientists. Dunn attended Harvard University as an undergraduate anthropology
major and returned to begin Harvard Medical School in 1952. As a medical student in 1955, he participated in the American
Himalayan Expedition in Pakistan as the team physician. This expedition marked Dunn’s first experience with communicable disease
among the local population in a developing country.
Following medical school graduation, Dunn completed postgraduate clinical training in Seattle through a program associated
with the University of Washington. He then began a two year service in the Center for Disease Control's (CDC) Epidemic Intelligence
Service (EIS), beginning in 1957, in Louisiana and East Pakistan.
In 1960, Dunn enrolled in a course at the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and received the Diploma in Tropical
Medicine and Hygiene. Through the course Dunn met J. Ralph Audy from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) who
proceeded to recruit Dunn for UCSF. Dunn officially joined the Department of Medicine faculty in September of 1960 and began
working in Audy’s tropical disease laboratory.
In 1962, Dunn traveled to Malaysia to work in the International Center for Medical Research and Training (ICMRT) program.
During the 1960s and 1970s Dunn spent over a total of seven years living, working, and researching infectious disease in Malaysia.
His research included primate malaria, parasitic diseases among indigenous groups, and the group Orang Asli in particular.
Dunn helped to form the country’s first medical anthropology program—a joint initiative between UCSF and University of California,
Berkeley—in 1969.
In 1973 Dunn completed his doctoral dissertation in anthropology at the University of Malaya. Dunn formally retired in 1993
at which point he had been serving as a faculty member in the UCSF-UCB joint medical anthropology program.
Scope and Contents note
The papers of global health physician-researcher Frederick L. Dunn date from 1930-2005, with the bulk of the materials dating
from 1950-1980. The collection documents his professional life, including teaching, field research, published research, and
involvement in the global health community on the topics of tropical medicine, medical anthropology, epidemiology, and infectious
disease. The papers are comprised of published articles, newsletters, drafts, research data and notes, correspondence, and
photographs.
The work and research files of Series I relate to the gamut of Dunn's professional activities. The majority of the material
relates to his teaching career, field research, and involvement with the global health community. Material documents his professional
relationships with the University of California, San Francisco, World Health Organization, and International Center for Medical
Research and Training, among others. Dunn's research was largely focused on Southeast Asia.
Among the publications and writings in Series II are published articles and material created in support of his publications
such as related drafts, notes, and correspondence.
Conditions Governing Use note
Copyright has not been assigned to the Library & Center for Knowledge Management. All requests for permission to publish or
quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the UCSF Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of
the Library & Center for Knowledge Management as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Provenance
Donated to the UCSF Archives and Special Collections by Frederick Dunn in 2012.
Preferred Citation note
Frederick L. Dunn papers, 1930-2005, MSS 2011-10. Archives and Special Collections, University of California, San Francisco.
Conditions Governing Access note
Collection is open for research.
Processing Information note
The collection was rehoused by the UCSF Archives staff upon receipt in 2012. The collection was processed, arranged, and described
by Margaret Hughes in 2013.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Frederick L. Dunn
World Health Organization.
Color negatives
Color photographs
Correspondence
Data
Epidemiology
Field notes
Infection
Malaysia
Medical anthropology
Public health
Publications
Social scientists
Southeast Asia
University of California, San Francisco
World health
Box 1-27, 35
I. Work and Research Files,
Bulk, 1960-1980
1930-2005
Physical Description:
11.3 linear ft.
(27 boxes)
Arrangement note
The series is arranged alphabetically by subject. Original order has been largely maintained. In general, dates are approximate
estimates. Subject titles have been maintained from collection box labels. They are general in nature and do not necessarily
apply to all of the material within. If individual folders were titled they have been maintained and appear as file titles.
If not, file titles are comprised of the dates of the contents.
Scope and Contents note
The work and research files series contains material relating to Dunn's professional life which include his teaching career,
field research, and involvement in community of global health. Subjects of his work include medical anthropology, tropical
medicine, and epidemiology. His work and research files are comprised of correspondence, clippings, maps, notes, notebooks,
research data, publications, and photographs.
Box 1-2
Anthropology and Primatology,
circa 1960s
Box 1, Folder 1
Australian Aborigines,
circa 1960s
Box 1, Folder 2
Disease and natural selection,
circa 1960s
Box 1, Folder 3-4
Primate ecology,
circa 1960s
Box 1, Folder 5
American Association of Physical Anthropology,
1966
Box 1, Folder 8-10
Primate evolution,
1965-1966
Box 1, Folder 11
Diseases in antiquity,
circa 1960s
Box 1, Folder 12
Anthropology 151 lecture,
1965
Box 1, Folder 14
Application for research grant,
circa 1960s
Box 1, Folder 15
Congo Pygmies,
circa 1960s
Box 2-3
Demography,
circa 1970s-circa 1980s
Box 2, Folder 4
Population council Southeast Asia/child,
circa 1980s
Box 2, Folder 5
George Brown - International Development Research Centre,
circa 1970s
Box 3
Gua Anak Takun,
1950s-1960s
Box 3, Folder 4-5
Malaya - caves,
1950s-1960s
Box 3-4
Gua Kechil Arch. - mal.,
circa 1950s-1990s, undated
Box 3, Folder 8-9
Cave archaeology,
circa 1960s
Box 4, Folder 13-14
Rodent parasites,
circa 1950s-circa 1970s
Box 5
Malaya mammals,
circa 1950s-circa 1970s
Box 5, Folder 1
Rodent parasites,
circa 1950s-circa 1970s
Box 5, Folder 2-4
Bats,
circa 1950s-circa 1970s
Box 5, Folder 5-6
Cynocephalus,
circa 1950s-circa 1970s
Box 5, Folder 7
Tadarida - Tryp,
circa 1950s-circa 1970s
Box 5, Folder 8
Bat filarids,
circa 1950s-circa 1970s
Box 5, Folder 9
R. rattus r. - Filaria,
circa 1950s-circa 1970s
Box 5, Folder 10
R. jalorensis - filariid,
circa 1950s-circa 1970s
Box 5, Folder 11
Musangs,
circa 1950s-circa 1970s
Box 5-6
Medical geography,
circa 1950s-circa 1970s
Box 5, Folder 13
Bennett,
circa 1960s-circa 1970s
Box 6, Folder 4
Symposium, UCSF,
February 1972
Box 6, Folder 6
Kuala Lumpur, World Health Organization symposium,
1964
Box 6, Folder 11
Denver bibliography,
1970
Box 6, Folder 12-13
International Geographic Union,
circa 1960s-circa 1970s
Box 7, Folder 6-7
Committee on International Nutrition Programs, social and economic,
1979-1980
Box 7-8
Orang Asli,
circa 1960s-1990s
Box 7, Folder 11
Current miscellany,
1960s-1990s
Box 8, Folder 5-6
Orang Asli survey,
January 1971
Box 8-10
Prehistory,
circa 1930s-1980s
Box 8, Folder 9
Miscell - Prehx disease,
1970s
Box 8, Folder 10
R. Gianno (resins),
1970s
Box 8, Folder 11
P. H. Stauffer,
1970s-1980s
Box 9, Folder 2
Peacock,
circa 1970s-1980s
Box 9, Folder 8
Polynesia - Pacific migration and parasitism,
circa 1970s
Box 9, Folder 10
University of Malaya - dissertation,
1971
Box 10, Folder 3
Pahang sites,
circa 1960s
Box 10, Folder 4
Glover paper,
circa 1960s-circa 1970s
Box 10, Folder 5
Glover thesis - Timor,
circa 1970s
Box 10-11
Primates,
circa 1960s-1970s
Box 10, Folder 9
Miscellaneous,
circa 1960s
Box 10, Folder 10-11
SA - trypanosoma,
circa 1960s
Box 11, Folder 4
Parasites - lemurs,
circa 1960s
Box 11, Folder 10
Plasmodium brasilianus,
circa 1960s
Box 11-12
Professional societies,
circa 1960s-circa 1970s
Box 11-12
Malaysian society of parasitology and tropical medicine,
circa 1960s-circa 1970s
Box 12, Folder 3
Malaysian society of parasitology and tropical medicine Kuala Lumpur,
1968
Box 12, Folder 4
Malaysian branch Royal Asiatic Society,
circa 1960s-circa 1970s
Box 12, Folder 5
Malayan Nature Society,
circa 1960s-circa 1970s
Box 12, Folder 6
Organization for Tropical Studies,
circa 1960s-circa 1970s
Box 12-13
Schistosomiasis,
circa 1950s-circa 1990s
Box 12, Folder 9-10
Background for Nobel workshop,
circa 1960s-circa 1970s
Box 13, Folder 3-4
Behavior,
circa 1970s-circa 1980s
Box 13-15
Soil-tran Helminths,
1950s-1970s, undated
Box 13, Folder 10
Catalytic models,
circa 1960s
Box 13, Folder 13
U, V, W, X, Y, - N,
1960s
Box 13-14
STH - MIF - DS,
circa 1960s
Box 14, Folder 4
AA - BB - CC - DD - EE - FF- GG - HH - II - JJ - KK - LL - MM - NN - OO - PP - QQ - RR,
1960s
Box 14, Folder 5
AAA - BBB- CCC- DDD - EEE - XX GGG - R,
1960s
Box 14, Folder 8
MIF (TIF) egg counts,
undated
Box 14, Folder 9
Final - MIF - DS methods,
June 1966
Box 14, Folder 14
General - Field Records MIF - DS,
1960s
Box 14, Folder 15
Orang Asli - I.MIF studies,
1960s
Box 14, Folder 16
Orang Asli general health and disease,
1960s
Box 14-15
Southeast Asia,
1960s-1970s, undated
Box 14, Folder 18
Malay Peninsula - Elephas - Molars,
1967
Box 14, Folder 20
Archaeology review - Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society,
1967
Box 15, Folder 2
Pleistocene and Pliocene dating,
1960s-1970s
Box 15, Folder 5
Prehistory - disease,
1960s
Box 15, Folder 11
Malaya - Archaeology - Genl.,
circa 1960s-1970s
Box 15-16
University of California, San Francisco,
1950s-1960s
Box 15-16
Exams - Medicine 118,
1950s-1960s
Box 15, Folder 3
Medicine 118, class 1964,
1960s
Box 15, Folder 4
Lectures - 1964 - Medicine 118,
1960s
Box 15, Folder 5
Medicine 118 - 1963 notes,
1960s
Box 15, Folder 6-7
Other papers, Medicine 118, Fall 1964,
1960s
Box 15, Folder 8
Medicine 118 - 1961,
1960s
Box 15, Folder 9
Medicine 118 - Fall 1965,
1960s
Box 15, Folder 11
Medicine 118 lectures,
1960s
Box 17
Vegetation and Terrain,
1960s-1970s
Box 17, Folder 2
Photo-micrograph, notes and Malaya contact prints,
1960s
Box 17, Folder 4
Malaysian International Biological Program Synthesis Meeting,
1974
Box 35, Folder 1-2
Southeast Asia,
circa 1960s
Box 17-18
World Health Organization,
1960s-1970s
Box 18-27
Miscellaneous,
1930s-2005
Box 18, Folder 6
Committee on International Nutrition Program/National Research Council,
1979-1982
Box 18, Folder 10
World Health Organization,
1960s-1980s
Box 18-19
Institute for Medical Research - Rural Health Research XI,
1973
Box 19, Folder 2
Institute for Medical Research - Rural Health Research,
1973
Box 19, Folder 6
Social interaction,
1960s
Box 19, Folder 7
International health,
1990
Box 21, Folder 3
Dunn's cirriculum vitae and publication list to 1970,
circa 1960s
Box 21, Folder 5
World Health Organization,
1990s
Box 21, Folder 6
Bibliographies,
1970-1971
Box 21, Folder 7
Biographical material,
1970s-1980s
Box 21, Folder 8-9
Work and UCSF-related,
1970s-1980s
Box 21-22
Epidemiology - EIS course,
1957
Box 22, Folder 2
Old bibliographic material,
1970s-1980s
Box 22, Folder 3-4
Biobibliography,
1960s-1970s
Box 22, Folder 5
University of California International Center for Medical Research Terminal Report,
1980
Box 22, Folder 6
University of California International Center for Medical Research and Training,
1960s
Box 22, Folder 7
Sabbatical and vacation,
1970s-1980s
Box 23, Folder 3
North Pacific Science Congress,
1957
Box 23, Folder 5
Course in Anthropology,
1968
Box 23, Folder 7
World Health Organization June 1967 meeting,
circa 1967
Box 23, Folder 8-9
Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene - lab meeting,
1960s
Box 23-24
Jack Ralph Audy,
1940s-1970s
Box 24, Folder 2
World Health Organization,
July 1967
Box 24, Folder 8
Malaysia maps,
1950s-1960s
Box 24, Folder 9
Travel photographs,
1974-1975
Box 25, Folder 4-8
Malaysia and China,
circa 1993
Box 25-27
New England and New York,
circa 1997
Box 27, Folder 2-3
Bibliograph and biography - staff,
1960s-1970s
Box 27, Folder 4
University of California step XI, XII,
1980s
Box 27-35
II. Publications and Writings,
1950s-2000s, undated
Physical Description:
3.3 linear ft.
(8 boxes)
Arrangement note
The series is arranged chronologically. Material has been grouped by decade.
Scope and Contents note
The publications and writings series is comprised laregly of the publications, writings, drafts, and notes of Dunn. Additionally,
the series contains a small amount of writings by others, correspondence, and other related material that relates to his body
of published work.
Separated Materials note
Dunn's dissertation
Rain-Forest Collectors and Traders: A Study of Resource Utilization in Modern and Ancient Malaya, 1971, has been transferred to the History - Non-circulating collection of the Archives & Special Collections.